mercedes pagoda 230SL

That VIN is early 1965! Production by year starting with 1963 below:

230 SL W113.042 2.3L 1,465 6,911 6,325 4,945 185 19,831

And the radiator expansion tank is also 280SL, the 230 had a flat pancake tank.
 
Don't have first-hand knowledge of this dealer in Southern California, but his 280sl /w113 buyer guide has some of the interesting details particular to the pagoda class including the spot welds, ID numbers, fender notches, hood paint runs, and on and on...

http://www.motoringinvestments.com/280SL_BuyersGuide.htm

You should view some of his SL restoration pages too, as they get fairly "DQ" in their detail of what can, or should be done to even a solid original car.

http://www.motoringinvestments.com/MINK_resto_page1.htm
 
Wow. Thanks for posting those links. (Made me late for work though.) If I were looking to buy a Pagoda, I'd feel I had a real grasp of what I was getting into.
 
well

of course i am new to these cars, the guidelines posted in previous threads are very useful

it seems that at least there are some details that do not match in this car, but i can not tell about how significant they are

the guy is an old guy close to retirement, the car is not advertised anywhere, it seems more trying to find a good home for it than trying to sell desperately, he owns a couple of more modern mercedes he might also consider selling, he only tells about the possible selling of the pagoda to customers and friends

as to the incongruences between 230 and 280, the car is clearly a 230 if we consider the VIN number, 042 stands for a 230

most likely when the car arrived in spain it had this swap of engine to the more powerful 280 and auto trans, and even american style headlamps, while keeping the rear all red euro ones,...

i have no answers to the other questions,

i found the correct welding points in the fenders, so the car has not had a front crash

as to dates i can tell the spanish documents now in the car clearly stated that the car was produced in 1967, and it was given first license plates in the same year

that is all for now

i will try to get an appointment to test drive next week if it stops snowing, and i will check most of the new lessons learnt about matching numbers

cheers
 
Mystery SL.

The more I look at the photos, the more I'm convinced this car is a 280SL and maybe there is a mix up with the vin number. It even has the red (hazard?) light right next to the steering column that I think only came on the later cars. Retrofiting the motor and transmission makes sense but all these little details would take some work. Do you know if it has 4 wheel disc brakes? The 230s only had disc in the front, 250s and 280s had them all the way around.

If it does turn out to be a 280sl, you might be better off because should be worth considerably more than a retrofitted 230sl. Most 230sl buyers want the stick.

Please let us know what you find out.
 
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Vince, Isn't VIN stamped on right front frame rail as well? Easy to swap plates. deQ, check the radio location, if the plate around dash is removable it's a 230SL, if not it is a 280SL for sure. It is a lot easier to remove radio with that dash plate.
 
The plot thickens, did this Pagoda also arrive in Spain via Paraguay? Is it somehow connected to the CSi resting at the bottom of a lake in Spiez? Will DQ do jail time if he becomes part of this transcontinental deception and who from the board will visit him in jail?

Part beauty part mystery with no rust and no collisions, go for it and let me know if you need a partner for the project.
 
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